Abdul Razak (Guantanamo detainee 1043)
Maulavi Abdul Razak is a citizen of Afghanistan, who held the post of Minister of Commerce in the Taliban government. He was captured by government forces in April 2003, and was then held in extrajudicial detention in the United States Guantanamo Bay detention camps, in Cuba. He was repatriated to Afghanistan on August 7, 2007. His Guantanamo Internment Serial Number was 1043. Joint Task Force Guantanamo counter-terrorism analysts estimate that he was born in 1958, in Kandahar, Afghanistan. Abdul Razak acknowledged that he has been conscripted into the Afghan civil service during the Taliban's government, and was promoted to serve as the Taliban's Minister of Commerce in 1999. But he denied being a member of the Taliban and claimed he took advantage of an amnesty offer after the Taliban fell, and had no association with the Taliban, and no involvement in politics, after their fall. Combatant Status Review Tribunal s were held in a 3x5 meter trailer. The captive sat with his hands and feet shackled to a bolt in the floor.Guantánamo Prisoners Getting Their Day, but Hardly in Court, The New York Times, November 11, 2004 - mirrorInside the Guantánamo Bay hearings: Barbarian "Justice" dispensed by KGB-style "military tribunals", Financial Times, December 11, 2004 Three chairs were reserved for members of the press, but only 37 of the 574 Tribunals were observed. ]] Initially the Bush administration asserted that they could withhold all the protections of the Geneva Conventions to captives from the war on terror. This policy was challenged before the Judicial branch. Critics argued that the US could not evade its obligation to conduct competent tribunals to determine whether captives are, or are not, entitled to the protections of prisoner of war status. Subsequently the Department of Defense instituted the Combatant Status Review Tribunals. The Tribunals, however, were not authorized to determine whether the captives were lawful combatants -- rather they were merely empowered to make a recommendation as to whether the captive had previously been correctly determined to match the Bush administration's definition of an enemy combatant. Summary of Evidence memo A Summary of Evidence memo was prepared for Abdul Razak's Combatant Status Review Tribunal, on 26 October 2004. The memo listed the following allegations against him: Testimony Razak chose to participate in his Combatant Status Review Tribunal. | title=Summarized Statement | date=date redacted | pages=pages 39–45 | author=OARDEC | publisher=United States Department of Defense | accessdate=2008-04-02 }} On March 3, 2006, in response to a court order from Jed Rakoff the Department of Defense published a seven page summarized transcripts from his Combatant Status Review Tribunal. First annual Administrative Review Board A Summary of Evidence memo was prepared for Abdul Razak's first annual Administrative Review Board, on 24 October 2005. The memo listed factors for and against his continued detention. The following primary factors favor continued detention The following primary factors favor release or transfer Transcript Razak chose to participate in his Administrative Review Board hearing. In the Spring of 2006, in response to a court order from Jed Rakoff the Department of Defense published a nineteen page summarized transcript from his Administrative Review Board. Second annual Administrative Review Board A Summary of Evidence memo was prepared for Abdul Razak's second annual Administrative Review Board, on 23 July 2006. The memo listed factors for and against his continued detention. The following primary factors favor continued detention The following primary factors favor release or transfer Red Cross worker's murder, the detainee stated he was in the custody of the governor of Kandahar, 60 to 70 miles away. The detainee stated the governor of Kandahar, Afghanistan told him Mullah Satar killed the worker and was hiding in the mountains. :c. During ARB 1 proceedings, when questioned why the detainee was arrested and sent to Cuba and the other officials weren't, the detainee stated that he was not from their tribe. The detainee stated that Defense Minister, Public Works Minister and former governor of Kandahar, Afghanistan were arrested, among others, but were released because of their tribal affiliations. }} Transcript Abdul Razak participated in his second Review Board hearing. In September 2007 the Department of Defense published an eleven page summarized transcript from his secondAdministrative Review Board. Board recommendations In early September 2007 the Department of Defense released two heavily redacted memos, from his Board, to Gordon England, the Designated Civilian Official. The Board's recommendation was unanimous The Board's recommendation was redacted. England authorized his transfer on 19 December 2006. Repatriation On November 25, 2008 the Department of Defense published a list of when Guantanamo captives were repatriated. According to that list he was repatriated on August 7, 2007, along with four other Afghans. The Center for Constitutional Rights reports that all of the Afghans repatriated to Afghanistan from April 2007 were sent to Afghan custody in the American built and supervised wing of the Pul-e-Charkhi prison near Kabul. mirror References External links * The Guantánamo Files: Website Extras (12) – The Last of the Afghans (Part Two) Andy Worthington * Isa al-Murbati, the last Bahraini in Guantánamo, returns home (and a former Taliban minister returns to Afghanistan) Andy Worthington Category:Afghan extrajudicial prisoners of the United States Category:Living people Category:Guantanamo detainees known to have been released Category:Block D, Pul-e-Charkhi prison Category:Year of birth uncertain